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City to boost local tourism in Khayelitsha

The City of Cape Town’s Tourism Department recently facilitated several workshops and information sessions to further develop tourism in Khayelitsha. The aim of the meetings was to increase participation from the community and tourism businesses and to get proposals on how tourism can be optimally developed.According to the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Area East, Councillor Anda Ntsodo, this initiative is an important step in driving inclusivity and ultimately linking all tourist destinations within Cape Town, while optimising the opportunities for growth in the Khayelitsha tourism sector.The outcome of the sessions informed interventions such as the development of a tourism route in Khayelitsha, and connecting tourism with neighbouring communities in Mitchells Plain and Stellenbosch in the Cape Winelands. ‘Improving and expanding tourism routes well help us to create an opportunity city. One of the priorities of the City’s new Organisational Development and Transformation Plan is economic inclusion, and growing Khayelitsha’s tourism footprint will help us to do this through creating opportunities for local residents and businesses,’ said Councillor Ntsodo. <figure class="figure-credits right"><img class="responsive" alt="placeholder" src="https://resource.capetown.gov.za/cityassets/Media%20Centre/Khay1_tourism.jpg" style="width:436px;" /><figcaption> © City of Cape Town </figcaption> </figure>Some of the unique tourism attractions in Khayelitsha include the Table Mountain Yellow Frame at Lookout Hill in celebration of Table Mountain’s inauguration into the New 7 Wonders of the World, kayaking in the wetland park, the Department of Coffee which is a local coffee brand and coffee shop, the bakery Espinaca which sells spinach bread, and a car-hire company based in Khayelitsha.The workshops found that in order to increase the number of visitors, Lookout Hill could be linked to its immediate surroundings as this will promote integration and open up business and networking opportunities. Landmarks need to be developed and highlighted as historical places of interest to attract visitors, while tourism signage needs to be improved to assist with visitors access.<figure class="figure-credits left"><img class="responsive" alt="placeholder" src="https://resource.capetown.gov.za/cityassets/Media%20Centre/Khay2_Toursim.jpg" style="width:511px;" /><figcaption> © City of Cape Town </figcaption> </figure>The workshops focused on using the strengths of the area as identified in the City’s Tourism Development Framework as a catalyst for community participation and tourism optimisation. For Khayelitsha, this framework has identified culture, heritage, and nature-based tourism as potential niche markets. Community suggestions included further developing niches such as kayaking in the wetlands park and the Department Coffee, developing a Khayelitsha museum to tell the story of Khayelitsha culture and heritage, positioning Lookout Hill as a meeting point for local tourist guides and tour operators, and hosting a Khayelitsha festival.The Khayelitsha Cultural Tour and Khayelitsha Water Adventure experience have been identified as key tourism routes. It is envisaged that these routes will be developed in conjunction with Cape Town Tourism and Thina Tourism (Thina Tourism is a local tourism stakeholder that represents local tourism businesses).‘The City will continue to do all it can to boost tourism across Cape Town, thus helping to build bridges between communities and tourists from the rest of South Africa and abroad,’ said Councillor Ntsodo.

2017-04-27T22:00:00Z

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